Making Things from Empty Tissue Boxes
Cleaning up the Bookshelf and Finding a Keeper
Something that Nick and I each collected before we got together were cookbooks. We both came into the relationship with a stack of them, which have since sat, mostly unused, gathering dust on a bookshelf.
We still both enjoy cooking and experimenting with all kinds of foods, but these days, like most people probably do, we turn to the internet for ideas and recipes. So we thought a good place to start a purging session was with these books. We thought this would be an easy task, since we'd be dealing with things we hardly ever use, but it seems, we're both kind of attached to our cookbooks. They are steeped in memories : of a time we were learning to cook, and of meals made long ago, perhaps enjoyed with ghosts from our past.
But they are taking up a lot of room and require effort to keep clean, and we're still determined to get rid of what we don't need. So we've modified the plan -- we will pull a cookbook out at random, once a month or so, and then the person who brought the book into the home will choose a recipe and prepare the dish.
If nothing pops out or looks particularly interesting, the book will be moved to a pile for donation, and another one will be selected. If the book ends up with only one or two recipes which were the reason the whole thing was being saved, than I will transcribe those particular recipes, photograph the cover, and then donate the book.
Or, if the dish prepared is so delicious that we end up with a need to try many more of the recipes, the book will have won its keep on the shelf.
And that is what ended up happening with the very first book we picked, an old well-used paperback, called 'Chinese Cookery', by Rose Cheng and Michele Morris.
This one is Nick's, something he picked up secondhand while he was a student. He tells me that this was a favourite at one time, the book through which he learned what he now knows about cooking Chinese food. And cook it he does, as we have Fried Rice, Peanut Noodles or Stir Fried Vegetables at least once a week, and then a second time when we have the leftovers. But those dishes don't really require a recipe, so he hasn't used the book in ages.
It is dated 1981, so I assumed that it would be long out of print, but to my surprise this book is still going strong and is available on Amazon here, among other places. It was reprinted in 1987 but the cover is exactly the same as the copy we have, as is the list of recipes. The reviews of the book are terrific, averaging 4.5 out of 5 stars. People love this book! And here we had it sitting unopened all this time.
The experience has lead me to conclude that if every book on that shelf is hiding at least one recipe that is as delicious as the one we made from 'Chinese Cookery', this whole cookbook purging thing is going to take a very long time indeed.
I guess I'll have to move onto another area of our home that could stand to undergo some serious editing ... that would be my closet. I'm going to try to follow the popular edict that if you haven't worn it in a year, it's time to let it go. Wish me luck!
Back to cooking, Nick prepared his chosen recipe meal for our Sunday lunch, and while he cooked we had a glass of wine, and I took pictures in the waning light.
These first ones are of the making of the stir fried vegetables that accompanied the main dish ...
A Cat Doll Made From Socks
Recent Thrift Store Finds
Here are the things I found during a recent visit to Value Village.
I'll start with something decorative, that I totally didn't need, but that I found so cute that I couldn't resist. At the check-out, this little guy got lots of attention from the elderly couple behind me in line, who could remember their daughter having one like it.
It's a bank, that appears to be from the 1970s. It's in perfect condition and even still has its rubber stopper to keep the coins in.
Healthier Banana Bread : Made with Bran, Almonds and Olive Oil
UPDATE September 2024 - To this day, this remains our favourite recipe for banana bread. We even purposely leave bananas to get extra ripe just to make it. Sometimes we throw a handful of dark chocolate chips into the dry ingredients, for an extra treat.
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On with the original blogpost :
As Nick and I were tidying the kitchen after dinner last night, I told him I would bake something for dessert on the weekend. He replied, "You know what I'd really like you to make? Banana Bread. Or give me your recipe and I'll make it." That surprised me because Banana Bread is more of a snack or breakfast food than a dessert.
I’ve been testing this recipe for a couple of years now, tweaking it every time I've made it, in an attempt to make a healthier version that still tastes really good.
Now, based on his choice for what he really wanted me to bake when he could have picked anything, I think I hit on a winner the last time I made it! So, it's finally time to stop experimenting and get this "Healthier Banana Bread" recipe down.
While most Banana Bread recipes contain melted butter, white flour, and up to a cup of sugar to make a single loaf, my recipe calls for heart-healthy Olive Oil (you can't taste any olive flavour), bran, whole-wheat flour, and the minimal amount of sugar required to make it taste good, but not overly sweet. Also included are nutritious and protein-filled raw almonds, which are apparently the best nut to eat for disease prevention. Their fibre, along with that in the whole-wheat flour and bran, will fill you up, making this an excellent thing to have when you need a snack.
Oh, and a word about baking with bananas -- You know when you have that one on the counter that just didn't get eaten in time? Well, just put it in a bag or container (peeled or not) and stick it in the freezer. It will be a soggy looking mess when you thaw it out later to use in your baking, but don't be turned off because it will be perfect for the purpose. You can use frozen bananas to make this bread, or a combo of very ripe fresh ones and frozen ones. Or, just fresh ripe ones, if you always manage to eat all your bananas before they get too brown.
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